Safety bottle cap

ABSTRACT

A threaded-type bottle cap is lockable on the bottle to preclude inadvertent removal of the cap as by a child. The cap is usable with conventional bottles having threaded necks. It includes a slidable ring which may be moved axially on the cap when the cap is screwed on the bottle, which motion of the ring causes a detent to engage the end of the lower thread on the bottle and precluding rotation and, therefore, removal of the cap.

[ Aug. 13, 1974 United States Patent [191 Shannon SAFETY BOTTLE CAP [76] Inventor:

Prima ExaminerGeor e T. Hall 42 F t R W g %z w sg g g 3 er d Attorney, Agent, or Firm-Wolf, Greenfield & Sacks Nov. 20, 1972 ABSTRACT [22] Filed:

A threaded-type bottle cap is lockable on the bottle to preclude inadvertent removal of the cap as by a child.

cap is usable with conventional bottles having threaded necks. It includes a slidable ring which may be moved axially on the cap when the cap is screwed on the bottle, which motion of the ring causes a detent to engage the end of the lower thread on the bottle and precluding rotation and, therefore, removal of the cap.

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BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION My invention relates to improvements in bottle caps and, particularly, to tamper-proof bottle caps which preclude inadvertent opening of the bottle as by a child.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In brief, the invention includes a bottle cap having a threaded interior portion for engaging the threaded neck of the bottle and an enlarged unthreaded bore at the entrance portion of the cap. The cap includes a locking ring having a hub slidable within the cap bore. The ring includes an integral collar at its lower end to facilitate grasping and sliding of the ring. The hub, which remains within the cap, includes a detent which is movable radially toward and away from the threaded neck of the bottle in response to axial movement of the ring toward and away from the cap. The detent is guided by means of a cam surface formed on the inside of the cap to urge the detent radially toward the cap as the ring is urged axially toward the cap. When in a locked position, the detent engages the'lower end of the bottle thread to preclude rotation of the cap. Removal of the cap requires manipulation of the ring to retract the detent from its locking position.

It is among the primary objects of the invention to provide an improved child-proof bottle cap.

A further object of the invention is to provide a lockable bottle cap which is interchangeable with other threaded bottles and which is capable of indefinite repeated use. A

DESCRIPTION OF THEDRAWINGS The foregoing and other objects and advantages of the invention will be understood more fully from the following detailed description thereof, with reference to the accompanying drawings;

FIG. 1 is an illustration, in section, of the bottle and the bottle cap in an unlocked configuration;

FIG. 1A is an enlarged sectional view of the detent configuration shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 2 is an illustration similar to FIG. 1 showing the configuration of the cap and bottle when locked;

FIG. 2A is an enlarged illustration of the detent configuration shown in FIG. 2; 1

FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken along the line 3-3 of FIG. 1A;

FIG. 4 is an illustration of the detent arrangement-as viewed from the inside of the cap and as seen along the line 4-4 of FIG. 1A;

FIG. 5 is an illustration of the detent as seen from the opposite side of that in FIG. 4;

FIG. 6 is an illustration of the cap portion of the device;

FIG. 7 is an illustration of the cap shown in FIG. 6 as seen from the underside along the line 7-7 of FIG. 6;

FIG. 8 is an illustration of the lockingring and the bottle neck with the detent removed;

FIG. 9 is an illustration of the locking ring, in plan, with the detent removed;

FIG. 10 is a broken-away illustration of the cap when in the locked configuration; and

FIG. 11 is a sectional elevation of the device showing it in the locked and unlocked configurations.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT FIGS. 1, IA and 6-9 show the elements of the inven- 5 tion which include the cap 10 having threads 12 formed interiorly at the upper end of thecap I0. The'threads 12 are arranged to cooperate with threads 14 on the bottle neck in the usual manner. The cap threadsl2 are formed only at the'upper inner portions of the cap 10, the lower inner region of the cap being defined by an enlarged unthreaded bore 16. The bore 16 receives the hub portion 18 of a locking ring 20 which is slidable axially within the bore 16. The lower portion of the locking ring 20 includes a radially outwardly extending collar 22 which projects beyond the cap 10 as shown. The parts are dimensioned so that the inside diameter of the hub portion 18 is large enough to enable the threaded endof the bottle neck to be passed easily therethrough when the device is in the configuration shown in FIG. 1. As shown in FIGS. 6-9 and 11, the locking ring 20 is guided for slidable movement within the bore 16 by means of longitudinal grooves 24 on the hub 18 which receive upper and lower projections 25, 27 on the surface of the bore 16. The projections 25, 27 and grooves 26 also preclude rotation of the ring 20 relative to the cap 10. The hub 18 also may include upper and lower detents 28, 29 which engage the projections 25, 27 to provide a snap-fit between the parts when locked and to limit the maximum extent of downward movement eration of projection 25 with detent 28 and downward 20. Projection 27 and detent 29 also preclude separation of the cap and hub and avoid possibility of losing one of these parts. The cross-section of elements 27 and 29 are triangular to provide a wedging effect during initial assembly and to provide a firm abutting resistance to separation.

A detent 32 is mounted to the hub portion 18 of the a locking ring 20 for movement substantially radially toward and away from the bottle neck through an opening 34 in the hub portion 18. The detent should be made from a suitably hard material to avoid excessive wear. The detent is pivotally connected, at its lower end, to the hub 18 by means of a hinge arrangement 36 which may take the fonn of the pin and socket configuration shown. The detent 32 is guided from the unlocked configuration shown in FIGS. 1 and 1A to the locked configuration shown in FIGS. 2 and 2A by means of a cam surface 38 formed at the inner surface of the bore 16. The cam surface extends upwardly and then inwardly as shown so that after the cap has been screwed onto the bottle to the configuration shown in FIG. 1, the ring 20 may be urged axially upwardly to the configuration shown in FIGS. 2 and 2A, during which time the cam surface 38 continually urges the detent 32 inwardly toward and against the bottle neck. The parts are arranged so that when the bottle cap is fully screwed on, the detent will be disposed slightly beyond the end 40 of the lowermost turns of the bottle neck thread 42 (see FIG. 3). After the ring 20 has been raised to urge the detent 32 radially inwardly, the detent 32 interferes with the end 40 of the lowermost bottle thread 42 and precludes unscrewing of the cap. The upper surface of the detent is inclined to enable it to be smoothly urged out of the way when the cap is screwed on.

of the locking ring 20. The snap-fit is achieved by coop- 3 The cap may be removed by-'urging the ring 20 downwardly back to the position shown in FIG. 1 to release the detent from its locking engagement'with the cam surface 38. In this regard it should be noted that the upper surface 44 of the detent is curved in crosssection. This insures that, in the event that the detent remains against the bottle neck after the locking. ring 20 has been urged downwardly, unscrewing of the cap will cause the curved surface 44 of the detent 32 to engage the underside of the thread and will enable the thread to urge the detent radially outwardly to the configuration shown in FIGS. 1 and 1A.

It should be understood that the foregoing description of the invention is intended merely to be illustrative thereof and that other embodiments and modifications may be apparent to those skilled in the art without departing from its spirit.

Having thus described the invention what I desire to claim and secure by Letters Patent is:

l. A closure for a'container having an externally threaded neck, the lowest of the convolutions of the threaded neck terminating in a free end, said closure comprising:

a cap having threads formed at its inner end and an unthreaded bore defining the mouth of said cap;

detent means mounted to said cap within said bore portion thereof and adapted to be disposed between said cap and said bottle neck when said cap is on said bottle neck;

means mounting said detent for axial movement within said bore; and

means responsive to said axial movement of said detent for urging said detent. substantially radially toward and away the neck of said bottle to and from a position in which said detent will interfere with said free end of said bottle thread.

2. A closure as defined in claim 1 wherein said means for urging said detent radially comprises:

means forming a cam surface on the inside of said cap, said cam surface being inclined upwardly and inwardly to urge said detent radially inwardly as said detent is moved axially upwardly.

3. A closure as defined in claim 2 wherein said means mounting said detent for said axial movement within said bore comprises:

a ring member including a hub slidable axially within the bore of said cap, the lower end of said ring being exposed through the mouth of said cap to enable said lower end of said ring to be manipulated; and Y means mounting said detent to said hub portion of said ring for said radial movement thereof. 4. A closure as defined in claim 3 wherein said detent is mounted to said hub by means comprising:

means forming a slot in said hub portion, said detent being disposed within said slot and being hinged at the lower end of said detent to that portion of said hub which defines the bottle of said slot. 5. A closure as defined in claim 4 wherein the upper end of said detent is of a curved configuration.

6. A closure as defined in claim 2 further comprising:

means forming a detent on said hub extending radially outwardly within said groove; and

said projection on said cap being disposed below said detent and extending into said groove and interfering longitudinal relation with said detent thereby to limit the extent of longitudinal movement between said cap and said hub.

9. A closure as defined in claim 8 further comprising:

means forming an upper detent on said hub extending radially outwardly thereof within said groove; and

an upper projection extending radially inwardly from said hub and being received within said groove, said upper detent and upper projection being arranged to provide a snap fit to enable said hub and cap to be locked together. 

1. A closure for a container having an externally threaded neck, the lowest of the convolutions of the threaded neck terminating in a free end, said closure comprising: a cap having threads formed at its inner end and an unthreaded bore defining the mouth of said cap; detent means mounted to said cap within said bore portion thereof and adapted to be disposed between said cap and said bottle neck when said cap is on said bottle neck; means mounting said detent for axial movement within said bore; and means responsive to said axial movement of said detent for urging said detent substantially radially toward and away the neck of said bottle to and from a position in which said detent will interfere with said free end of said bottle thread.
 2. A closure as defined in claim 1 wherein said means for urging said detent radially comprises: means forming a cam surface on the inside of said cap, said cam surface being inclined upwardly and inwardly to urge said detent radially inwardly as said detent is moved axially upwardly.
 3. A closure as defined in claim 2 wherein said means mounting said detent for said axial movement within said bore comprises: a ring member including a hub slidable axially within the bore of said cap, the lower end of said ring being exposed through the mouth of said cap to enable said lower end of said ring to be manipulated; and means mounting said detent to said hub portion of said ring for said radial movement thereof.
 4. A closure as defined in claim 3 wherein said detent is mounted to said hub by means comprising: means forming a slot in said hub portion, said detent being disposed within said slot and being hinged at the lower end of said detent to that portion of said hub which defines the bottle of said slot.
 5. A closure as defined in claim 4 wherein the upper end of said detent is of a curved configuration.
 6. A closure as defined in claim 2 further comprising: means precluding relative rotation between said cap and said ring member.
 7. A closure as defined in claim 6 wherein said means for precluding relative rotation between said cap and ring further comprises: means forming at least one longitudinal groove along the exterior of said hub; and means forming at least one radially and inwardly extending projection on said cap and received within said groove on said hub.
 8. A closure as defined in claim 7 further comprising: means forming a detent on said hub extending radially outwardly within said groove; and said projection on said cap being disposed below said detent and extending into said groove and interfering longitudinal relation with said detent thereby to limit the extent of longitudinal movement between said cap and said hub.
 9. A closure as defined in claim 8 further comprising: means forming an upper detent on said hub extending radially outwardly thereof within said groove; and an upper projection extending radially inwardly from said hub and being received within said groove, said upper detent and upper projection being arranged to provide a snap fit to enable said hub and cap to be locked together. 